Isobar's Work on Behalf of Electronic Arts, Inc. Wins Industry Accolades: Agency Takes Home Three MI6 Awards

Honored Campaigns Showcase Outstanding Creativity and Technical Excellence in Video Game and Interactive Entertainment Marketing

BOSTON, May 28, 2010 — Isobar (www.isobar.com), a full-service digital communications agency and Aegis Media Group company,  announced that its work on behalf of three iconic EA video game franchises has earned the agency three MI6 Awards at the Fifth Annual Video Game Marketing Conference, including a Gold Award and two Bronze Certificates. Isobar won the Gold Award for Best Online Ad Unit for its work to launch EA SPORTS Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10. Together with ad agency Weiden + Kennedy, Isobar received a Bronze Certificate for Outstanding Overall Marketing Campaign for the integrated marketing work to support EA GAMES The Sims™ 3 launch. Isobar received another Bronze Certificate for the creative “Put a Hit on a Hottie” video overlay on Playboy.com on behalf of EA GAMES Godfather II.  

“We are very proud to have earned multiple MI6 Awards this year. For Electronic Arts and its popular game franchises, we must find meaningful ways to marry cutting-edge, relevant technology with outstanding creative that will engage both the first-time player and passionate gamers, alike,” said Tara Moss, EVP of product and innovation at Isobar. “Though each campaign is unique, the unifying factor is that we look for unexpected ways to earn the audience’s attention and provide them with rewarding experiences that will enhance their association with the games.”  

Play Along with Tiger

With the launch of EA SPORTS Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 came many new product features and innovations. Together with Isobar, EA SPORTS introduced the Virtual Par 5 campaign as a way to educate its diverse audience segments with a broadly appealing, immersive experience that would showcase the game’s new features. Virtual Par 5 invited consumers to play a hole of golf with Tiger. Users launched the browsing experience by teeing off in a banner ad and playing out the hole through a series of consecutive microsites highlighting various new game features. Ultimately, the user landed on the EA SPORTS Tiger Woods product page.

Sims at Your Side

To help launch the new version of its critically acclaimed Sims franchise, EA GAMES tasked Isobar and Weiden + Kennedy with creating an integrated marketing campaign that would make The Sims 3 brand live within pop culture, and create a trial experience that promoted its new features. As a centerpiece of the integrated campaign, Isobar created the SimSidekick, a widget that invites users to choose from six distinct characters to follow them as they surf the web. Each Sim reacts differently to the sites the user visits based on their unique personality traits. The Sidekick links to brand properties such as The Sims 3 Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter pages, but also offers custom animations by intelligently scrubbing keywords within any web page.

The Godfather II is a Hit on Playboy

To promote EA GAMES The Godfather II, Isobar identified Playboy.com as having the perfect mix of relevant content and readership. With the “Put a Hit on a Hottie” campaign, Isobar married video of Playboy’s Gamer Next Door blogger, Jo Garcia, with dialogue from the game to bring The Godfather story to life across Playboy.com. Beginning on the homepage of Playboy, the character of Dominic takes control and breaks out of his banner to put the “hit” on Jo Garcia as she raves about the game. The ensuing cat-and-mouse interaction takes gamers across the Playboy.com site on pages featuring great The Godfather II movie interviews and pictorials, as well as game reviews. When Dominic scores his prize on the final page, Isobar’s campaign has taken Playboy.com’s readers through an experience that helped raise awareness of the game’s mechanics in a vital lifestyle market.

About Isobar North America, Inc.

Isobar is a full-service digital communications agency that combines digital strategy, creative, media, technology, and measurement to drive brand success in today's technology-driven, consumer-controlled world. Formed by the merger of Ammo Marketing, Freestyle Interactive, Mindblossom and Molecular in 2010, Isobar North America's team of more than 200 digital experts have been transforming the way the world's biggest brands reach, connect and engage with consumers since the Internet's inception. Its clients include adidas, Nikon, Northwestern Mutual, Procter & Gamble and Reebok. With locations in Boston, New York, San Francisco and Toronto, Isobar North America is an Aegis Media Group company. For more information about Isobar North America, please visit www.isobar.com.